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COACHING CRITICISMS

Winning isn’t everything, being a role model and teaching these boys life lessons is more important. I still use the lessons that coaches taught us when we played. Maybe winning is all you care about but I would rather have a Slick Andrews coaching than anyone you named that won a title.....I don’t have a problem with current coach and have never trashed him.....the others got what they deserved...
I don't disagree with anything you have said. In fact it was kind of behind my original post about why fans of any school would publically trash their coaches.
 
Winning is all that matters to me. Life lessons and stuff is better left to parents and preachers. I feel good when my team wins. When I learn a life lesson I feel ok but nothin like I do when I win the big one
 
This year round practice deal should be outlawed. It's one of the dumber things the VHSL has done. In my opinion it hurts all sports, including football.

Agree totally. Problem is people will cheat and this way the VHSL can stay out of it by having it “open season”. Major problem before system was changed but this new way certainly is not helping the high school coach. This year round practicing has also helped negatively in regards to specializing in sports by kids and having high school coaches “fight” over athletes. I know Clarke has implemented windows for each season to try and alleviate this pressure on coaches and/or kids.
 
VHSL is like NCAA, rather than enforce rules, they change them. I see that Kansas is ranked #1 in basketball. This after FBI revealed they were buying recruits.
 
Winning is all that matters to me. Life lessons and stuff is better left to parents and preachers. I feel good when my team wins. When I learn a life lesson I feel ok but nothin like I do when I win the big one

So since you continue to troll, have to ask, are YOU a player on the team (Appo, even though some have speculated you arent a fan of theirs), because if not YOU didn't win the big one, the PLAYERS did
 
So we are blaming 14-18 year old kids? C'mon man, I don't believe that.
Read my post closer. I do blame the kids for failure and hope they learn from their failure before they get in a bad habit of always blaming someone else for their screw ups. That is a huge problem in our society. Ask any teacher how many of their students and their parents blame the teacher for failing grades even when the kid never does homework, doesn't show up half the time, is disrespectful and exhibit behaviors that make learning for themselves and others all but impossible. The teacher is the one that gets blamed no matter how hard they work, and prepare, and try to engage. BUT YES, I blame the parents more for not putting the responsibility where it really belongs..on the kids which is a bad reflection on their parenting.
 
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Incorrect. There is no failure that belongs on the shoulders of the kids. Do teachers tell kids who get a D in Math 'that's your fault' or do they try to teach them a better way to understand? Doing something the same way for 15 years doesn't necessarily make it the right way. Coaches need to constantly learn, adapt, and apply (as teachers do). John Wooden never called himself a Coach. He called himself a Teacher.
You do not understand what I am saying. If a kid is unteachable because he is up all night playing video games, or is uncoachable because he has been raised without any expectations..that is not on the coach. I would say that failure to perform belongs on the shoulders of the kids and is a reflection of the parents failure to raise them correctly. You can say that no failure belongs on the shoulder of a kid but sooner or later..that kid needs to take responsibility. he will either do it at age 14 or at age 21 or at age 35..or he will be a failure as an adult. There is nothing wrong with teaching KIDS the concept that you own your failures, and you fix it. That is a lesson that is not taught to children today, and why we have so many adult failures. It's because society has the same attitude that you do..it is never the child's fault.
 
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"Every man in America knows how to do two things better than every other man in America
1. Coach Football
2. Work a grill"

Coaches put up with more BS than they deserve 99% of the time. There are guys out there that have no business working with kids and are an ego trip, but the vast majority of them are good people who love sports and working with kids. They sure as heck don't do it for the money. It is foolish to judge a coach on his win/loss record, because they don't get to choose their team and I assure you, they aren't all dealt the same hand.

Every kid should have to play baseball/softball, run track, or wrestle. Because when you are in the batters box, on the starting line, or on the mat, there is no one else to blame. No coach ever lost a race, an at bat, or a match. Kids need to LEARN how to fail because one thing is for sure, you will lose more in life than you will win. How they LEARN to respond to failure or criticism will determine how successful they will be in the big game of life. A good butt chewing by a coach who believed I was better than I was playing or a butt whipping by a team that was better than we were taught me a heck of lot more than blowing someone out or some coach who told me it was ok when I made a mistake. I also learned from them that life isn't always fair.

If you have been fortunate enough to have coaches who are good role models, but also hold your kids accountable and correct them when they do things wrong, then you should thank them and for goodness sakes hold onto them.
 
"Every man in America knows how to do two things better than every other man in America
1. Coach Football
2. Work a grill"

Coaches put up with more BS than they deserve 99% of the time. There are guys out there that have no business working with kids and are an ego trip, but the vast majority of them are good people who love sports and working with kids. They sure as heck don't do it for the money. It is foolish to judge a coach on his win/loss record, because they don't get to choose their team and I assure you, they aren't all dealt the same hand.

Every kid should have to play baseball/softball, run track, or wrestle. Because when you are in the batters box, on the starting line, or on the mat, there is no one else to blame. No coach ever lost a race, an at bat, or a match. Kids need to LEARN how to fail because one thing is for sure, you will lose more in life than you will win. How they LEARN to respond to failure or criticism will determine how successful they will be in the big game of life. A good butt chewing by a coach who believed I was better than I was playing or a butt whipping by a team that was better than we were taught me a heck of lot more than blowing someone out or some coach who told me it was ok when I made a mistake. I also learned from them that life isn't always fair.

If you have been fortunate enough to have coaches who are good role models, but also hold your kids accountable and correct them when they do things wrong, then you should thank them and for goodness sakes hold onto them.
I totally agree and would add that I required my children to play at least one sport. I have never met a bad coach. I know they are out there but 95% or better are good and in it for the right reason. Too many parents are relying on coaches to get scholarships for their kids and that aint usually going to happen no matter how good the coach is.
 
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Incorrect. There is no failure that belongs on the shoulders of the kids. Do teachers tell kids who get a D in Math 'that's your fault' or do they try to teach them a better way to understand? Doing something the same way for 15 years doesn't necessarily make it the right way. Coaches need to constantly learn, adapt, and apply (as teachers do). John Wooden never called himself a Coach. He called himself a Teacher.
Coach Wooten set a better example by accident than virtually anyone has ever done deliberately. He has to be the greatest coach that ever lived. He almost NEVER talked to his players about winning the game. He was all about learning your position and executing to your best ability. Winning came by default. I think it was him that explained that "if you have to motivate a player to win, you have already lost!"
 
Just want add when I was young if I got trouble at school and got the paddle it was worse when I got home. Wasn’t teachers fault it was mine
I would do almost anything to keep the teacher from sending a note home. There was nothing that teacher could do to me that came close to enduring my father's disappointment in me. And, I can honestly say that I was never once punished that I didn't deserve it. (But man, if I had gotten caught and punished every time I earned it, I would still be sitting in the Principal's office to this day! LOL).
 
We had the same issue at Riverheads a few years back but it was our basketball coach and I think I finally figured out that it was just one parent who caused all the commotion. But the coach won the district tournament 7 out of 8 years running, also won 2 or 3 regular season titles in there, and took us to the state finals one year, yet this parent got on here and called him every name in the book, said he didn't know what he was doing, a monkey could coach the team better, etc.

I think it was mainly because this parent did not like a slower-paced brand of basketball and did not agree with that coach's commitment to defense. Both have moved on now, so I have no idea if either one is reading this but I am sure they both remember it well.
Luray had a good basketball coach that took the team to several district championships,regional championships and to state final fours barely missing a championship in overtime.they ran him off and haven't had winning season since.
 
I totally agree and would add that I required my children to play at least one sport. I have never met a bad coach. I know they are out there but 95% or better are good and in it for the right reason. Too many parents are relying on coaches to get scholarships for their kids and that aint usually going to happen no matter how good the coach is.

Most coaches are good, but I have seen some bad ones, who had no business coaching.They may have been a good person and good teacher, but not good coach.
 
IMO, coaching criticisms are irrelevant as long as coaches have the backing of their administration. If you coach, you should know and/or be prepared to understand that this is just part of coaching. If you know you have the full support of administrators then you, as a coach, can run your team and make decisions in the best interest of the team without worry.
 
IMO, coaching criticisms are irrelevant as long as coaches have the backing of their administration. If you coach, you should know and/or be prepared to understand that this is just part of coaching. If you know you have the full support of administrators then you, as a coach, can run your team and make decisions in the best interest of the team without worry.
I respect that perspective and wholeheartedly agree that is how it should be. Except the fact that coaches should expect it. Most attacks start as "why did he/she do this or that" to character flaws. I'm willing to bet most coaches worth their grain of salt have no problems with people questioning X's and O's but when character gets into question it's a different can of worms. Husbands/wives/families are in those stands as well........let's not forget that. However-if the "right people" don't go away it becomes a problem even for the best admin. People have no problem skipping the chain of command these days and let's be totally honest here, we have become a society of squeaky wheels syndrome. The best administrations still don't wan't to deal with a constant barrage from a parent or group of parents over a sport/coach. Way too much going on with the normal academic day. Sometimes that leads to coaches being let go or pushed out just to make the problem go away. I have found it best when a few of the "non squeaky" parents stand up and say "enough is enough". Nothing like that pressure from peer group of parents. Wish it happened more.
 
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I think most coaching complaints are Xs and Os related, or a parent is mad because their kid is on bench.
 
Read my post closer. I do blame the kids for failure and hope they learn from their failure before they get in a bad habit of always blaming someone else for their screw ups. That is a huge problem in our society. Ask any teacher how many of their students and their parents blame the teacher for failing grades even when the kid never does homework, doesn't show up half the time, is disrespectful and exhibit behaviors that make learning for themselves and others all but impossible. The teacher is the one that gets blamed no matter how hard they work, and prepare, and try to engage. BUT YES, I blame the parents more for not putting the responsibility where it really belongs..on the kids which is a bad reflection on their parenting.

And who chooses to put said kid on the field? A coach. If a kid can't handle the pressure of shouldn't be on the field, then a coach shouldn't play him. I understand wanting kids to take more responsibility, but these are teenage kids who aren't grown and their brains aren't fully developed. Putting such extreme pressure on a kid and then blaming him if he fails can do a lot of damage to their psyche and mindset. It's one thing to be constructive and help a kid learn to be better, it's a totally different animal to put the blame on losing on a 16 year old kid as opposed to the 40 year old coach who put him in the position.
 
"Every man in America knows how to do two things better than every other man in America
1. Coach Football
2. Work a grill"

Coaches put up with more BS than they deserve 99% of the time. There are guys out there that have no business working with kids and are an ego trip, but the vast majority of them are good people who love sports and working with kids. They sure as heck don't do it for the money. It is foolish to judge a coach on his win/loss record, because they don't get to choose their team and I assure you, they aren't all dealt the same hand.

Every kid should have to play baseball/softball, run track, or wrestle. Because when you are in the batters box, on the starting line, or on the mat, there is no one else to blame. No coach ever lost a race, an at bat, or a match. Kids need to LEARN how to fail because one thing is for sure, you will lose more in life than you will win. How they LEARN to respond to failure or criticism will determine how successful they will be in the big game of life. A good butt chewing by a coach who believed I was better than I was playing or a butt whipping by a team that was better than we were taught me a heck of lot more than blowing someone out or some coach who told me it was ok when I made a mistake. I also learned from them that life isn't always fair.

If you have been fortunate enough to have coaches who are good role models, but also hold your kids accountable and correct them when they do things wrong, then you should thank them and for goodness sakes hold onto them.

It's one thing for a kid to strike out, or get pinned or lose a set in a sport like that and have the coach help them try and improve while recognizing their shortcomings. But it's an entirely different thing to blame a kid for a loss in a team sport, especially football where there are ten other players on the field. Kids absolutely need to learn about failing and dusting themselves off and trying again, but you also have to be aware and not crush a kids psyche. These are young kids going through a very difficult period in life, dealing with growing up, building social skills and trying to learn the skills needed to be a successful adult. The more we learn about how kids process and internalize failure and other things, the better we can show them the correct way. Not every kid responds to yelling, screaming , the public humiliation of getting reamed out by a coach in front of people. Some kids will turtle up and just give up, the best coaches realize this and they know the best way to reach some kids is a quiet moment alone or a more constructive environment.

Another thing is no adult that isn't important in a child life or isn't a coach has absolutely NO BUSINESS screaming and yelling at a kid. That shit drives me crazy. A grown man who isn't a coach or a family member has absolutely no right to scream and yell at someone else's kid (and often times family members should sit down and shut up).

Are you guys familiar with John Gagliardi? The winningest D3 football coach ever, he died a couple weeks ago. He was a coach who wasn't a tyrant, treated his players with respect and genuinely taught them to be better people first, and the results speak for themselves.
https://deadspin.com/john-gagliardi-was-the-only-good-coach-1829662008
 
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And who chooses to put said kid on the field? A coach. If a kid can't handle the pressure of shouldn't be on the field, then a coach shouldn't play him. I understand wanting kids to take more responsibility, but these are teenage kids who aren't grown and their brains aren't fully developed. Putting such extreme pressure on a kid and then blaming him if he fails can do a lot of damage to their psyche and mindset. It's one thing to be constructive and help a kid learn to be better, it's a totally different animal to put the blame on losing on a 16 year old kid as opposed to the 40 year old coach who put him in the position.

So you are saying that the coach should put a kid in the game if the kid can't handle the pressure. But if the coach doesn't put the kid in the game, then the parents raise heck and complain to the administration. So the coach puts in a kid who has less ability but has the mental toughness, but if they lose then you want the coach to shoulder all of the blame.

I don't think there should ever be any "finger pointing" after a loss, at either kids or coaches. ITS HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS! Not the Super Bowl. Prepare the best you can, with what you have and then go out and play the game. If you win, great. If you lose, then so be it. As long as you gave maximum effort then I don't care. Failure is a part of life for kids and adults. Every loss/mistake in life is a learning opportunity. Embrace it and grow.
 
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It's one thing for a kid to strike out, or get pinned or lose a set in a sport like that and have the coach help them try and improve while recognizing their shortcomings. But it's an entirely different thing to blame a kid for a loss in a team sport, especially football where there are ten other players on the field. Kids absolutely need to learn about failing and dusting themselves off and trying again, but you also have to be aware and not crush a kids psyche. These are young kids going through a very difficult period in life, dealing with growing up, building social skills and trying to learn the skills needed to be a successful adult. The more we learn about how kids process and internalize failure and other things, the better we can show them the correct way. Not every kid responds to yelling, screaming , the public humiliation of getting reamed out by a coach in front of people. Some kids will turtle up and just give up, the best coaches realize this and they know the best way to reach some kids is a quiet moment alone or a more constructive environment.

Another thing is no adult that isn't important in a child life or isn't a coach has absolutely NO BUSINESS screaming and yelling at a kid. That shit drives me crazy. A grown man who isn't a coach or a family member has absolutely no right to scream and yell at someone else's kid (and often times family members should sit down and shut up).

Are you guys familiar with John Gagliardi? The winningest D3 football coach ever, he died a couple weeks ago. He was a coach who wasn't a tyrant, treated his players with respect and genuinely taught them to be better people first, and the results speak for themselves.
https://deadspin.com/john-gagliardi-was-the-only-good-coach-1829662008
Great points. I wholeheartedly agree that coaches need to scream less and teach more. Kids are like a bank. You have to make a whole lot of deposits before you can make withdrawals. A kid needs to know you care about them before you can chew on them.

I don't understand how some parents are as patient as they are with fans at games. I've seen people yell at kids when their parents were 20 feet away. And to those parents credit, they didn't react or should I say, overreact as I probably would. Thats why I watch my kids games from the outfield so that I don't have to try to keep my composure if a fan behaves badly.
 
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Great points. I wholeheartedly agree that coaches need to scream less and teach more. Kids are like a bank. You have to make a whole lot of deposits before you can make withdrawals. A kid needs to know you care about them before you can chew on them.

I don't understand how some parents are as patient as they are with fans at games. I've seen people yell at kids when their parents were 20 feet away. And to those parents credit, they didn't react or should I say, overreact as I probably would. Thats why I watch my kids games from the outfield so that I don't have to try to keep my composure if a fan behaves badly.

I don't have kids yet, but for my nephews and cousins and the like, I can't imagine not reacting if a grown man or woman is screaming at them from the stands. You have the right idea, I can't imagine how some adults feel it's okay to harang and harass a high school aged kid that isn't your own, much less little league or younger.

My first post was about how a coach has to be aware of their kids and put kids in a position to succeed, not fail. If a parent has a problem, tell them how it is. Parents need to learn to sit down and shut up. You've seen all the terrible videos of how parents act, more parents need to be more self aware. If you trust a person to coach your kids, trust them enough to respect their decisions.
 
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And who chooses to put said kid on the field? A coach. If a kid can't handle the pressure of shouldn't be on the field, then a coach shouldn't play him. I understand wanting kids to take more responsibility, but these are teenage kids who aren't grown and their brains aren't fully developed. Putting such extreme pressure on a kid and then blaming him if he fails can do a lot of damage to their psyche and mindset. It's one thing to be constructive and help a kid learn to be better, it's a totally different animal to put the blame on losing on a 16 year old kid as opposed to the 40 year old coach who put him in the position.
Extreme pressure? I am talking about holding kids accountable for their actions or inaction and mistakes whether the team wins or loses does not matter to the best coaches..teaching moments are teaching moments. That is what great coaches do. Also, great coaches build players back up after addressing bad performance and raising expectations. It's a combination of tough love and also celebrating with the athlete when they do perform well. I was privileged to have been coached by a great HOF coach and trust me, he put the blame squarely on our shoulders. Now,I respect and love him greatly for teaching me to own my mistakes.
 
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Extreme pressure? I am talking about holding kids accountable for their actions or inaction and mistakes whether the team wins or loses does not matter to the best coaches..teaching moments are teaching moments. That is what great coaches do. Also, great coaches build players back up after addressing bad performance and raising expectations. It's a combination of tough love and also celebrating with the athlete when they do perform well. I was privileged to have been coached by a great HOF coach and trust me, he put the blame squarely on our shoulders. Now,I respect and love him greatly for teaching me to own my mistakes.

I don't think my point is coming across clearly. It's one thing for a coach to point out a kid's flaws and mistakes in the process of trying to make them better. It's entirely different from fans trying to blame kids for the shortcomings of a team.
 
Coach Ragsdale said after he retired that sports had no purpose in education unless it was educational, meaning that it should be used to teach kids life lessons. We often think of coaches as PE teachers. He taught upper level math. There are up and down years in football. Giles is on a downward trend. 15 years ago there were 6 little league teams in the County (which includes Narrows). Now there are 3. So it's not just high school where the interest has dropped. Unfortunately when you start losing, some kids don't want to be a part of a losing effort. Easier to keep players coming out when you win. I doubt Appo has trouble getting kids out to play.
 
This year round practice deal should be outlawed. It's one of the dumber things the VHSL has done. In my opinion it hurts all sports, including football.


Why? think the kids in the Midwest, south, and out west shouldn't be aloud to practice either? I know your gonna say its a numbers thing, but wouldn't it be nice to Va. High School Football at a national level? (besides Oscar Smith) or is it just me? I think the year run practice helps the kids on the field.
 
Only thing year round practice does is hurt all sports, including football. VHSL was stupid in allowing this.
Virginia HS football will never be as good nationally as teams from Georgia, Florida and Alabama, and maybe Texas. They can practice 12 months a year or 3 months a year. All this rule does is give some football coaches total control of the athletes in the school.
 
Maybe that's why private schools recruit from the public schools, idk, just a thought
 
What's your take on a kid starting week 6 of the season? Skipping all summer practices, two a days, and the first 5 games. Not due to injury or transfer.
 
GC Coach is a joke. 7-24 record
This guy is coaching a storied program. You say he is 7-24. Yes he probably will lose his job if he doesn't turn it around very quickly. But why call him a joke? As for kid playing week 6 , one would have to know details right? Not an injury nor transfer. Need more info.
 
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What I meant was he didnt have an injury that prevented him from playing prior to the season starting. He wasn't a transfer from another school. Basically he just decided week 6 he wanted to play football. Was allowed on team and allowed to play.
 
What I meant was he didnt have an injury that prevented him from playing prior to the season starting. He wasn't a transfer from another school. Basically he just decided week 6 he wanted to play football. Was allowed on team and allowed to play.
Wow. That is interesting to say the least.
 
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